Section: Information In-depth
Other medical problems can lead to symptoms similar to those encountered in feline immunodeficiency virus. It is important to exclude these conditions before establishing a diagnosis of FIV infection. These conditions include:
Anemia
Ehrlichiosis, an infectious disease caused by unusual bacteria called rickettsia that live inside of white blood cells or platelets
Rocky mountain spotted fever, an infectious disease caused by another rickettsial agent
Feline leukemia virus (FeLV) infection
Feline infectious peritonitis (FIP), a viral disease of cats
Fungal infections such as cryptococcosis, histoplasmosis, blastomycosis and coccidioidomycosis
Toxoplasmosis, an infectious disease caused by a protozoa that completes its life cycle in cats
Hemobartonella felis, an infectious disease caused by a bacterial parasite that lives in red blood cells
Leukemia, cancer of blood-forming tissues with spread of cancer cells through the bloodstream
Lymphoma, solid tumor of the lymphoid tissues that produce lymphocytes
Multiple myeloma, a tumor of the antibody-producing B-type lymphocytes
Myeloproliferative disease, cancer of the white blood cell producing bone marrow tissue
Other forms of cancer
Sepsis, body wide infection caused by spread of bacteria or their toxins in the bloodstream
Systemic lupus erythematosus, a disease in which the body's immune system mistakenly recognizes certain body tissue components as foreign and attacks them.
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